Song of the Sparrow

This eloquent and gripping addition to the Camelot canon -- written in beautiful verse -- has received glowing, starred reviews and early awards buzz!

Since the days of King Arthur, there have been poems and paintings created in her name. She is Elaine of Ascolat, the Lady of Shalott, and now there is a book all her own. The year is 490 A.D. and 16-year-old

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Overview

This eloquent and gripping addition to the Camelot canon -- written in beautiful verse -- has received glowing, starred reviews and early awards buzz!

Since the days of King Arthur, there have been poems and paintings created in her name. She is Elaine of Ascolat, the Lady of Shalott, and now there is a book all her own. The year is 490 A.D. and 16-year-old Elaine has a temperament to match her fiery red hair. Living on a military base with her father, brothers, and the rest of Arthur's army, Elaine pines for the handsome Lancelot, and longs for a female friend. But when the cruel, beautiful Gwynivere arrives, Elaine is confronted with startling emotions of jealousy and rivalry. Can Elaine find the strength to survive the birth of a kingdom?

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Meet the Author

Lisa Ann Sandell studies sculpture, is re-learning to play the trumpet, and, like Cora, has always found art and writing to be a driving force in her life. She is the author of THE WEIGHT OF THE SKY, which was named one of the New York Public Library’s Books for the Teen Age, and SONG OF THE SPARROW, which was a BookSense Summer 2007 pick and which Publishers Weekly called "unique and eloquently wrought" in a starred review. Lisa works as a children’s books editor and lives in New York City with her husband, the author Liel Leibovitz, and their dog, Molly. Please visit her online at www.lisaannsandell.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

Elaine of Ascolat could have been a lady with lovely dresses and finery. A lady who spent her days weaving like her mother in a tower room of their home on Shallot.
But that home and her mother are gone.
Instead Elaine lives with her father and brothers who fight in the Briton army under the young Arthur. The only girl in the camp, Elaine runs as wild and free as her brothers. She wishes the handsome knight Lancelot would see her as more than a child. She listens to Tristan's sweet songs. She mends the soldiers' clothes before each battle. She tends their wounds with herbs and poultices after.
Although she has a home in this strange world of men and fighting, although she has hundreds of brothers, Elaine longs for a real place among the men as much as she wishes for female companionship.
When another girl, Gwynivere, arrives at the camp Elaine is thrilled--until Gwynivere proves herself a cold and cruel companion.
Spurned by Gwynivere, faced with an uncertain future as war looms, Elaine decides to make her own place in Arthur's camp and prove her worth to the soldiers--especially Lancelot. What starts as a simple plan soon turns into something more complicated and much more dangerous as Elaine has to struggle to protect everything--and everyone--she holds dear in Song of the Sparrow (2007) by Lisa Ann Sandell.
Song of the Sparrow is a revisionist retelling of the legend of King Arthur. It is also a novel written in free verse.
The Lady of Shalott, Elaine of Ascolat, has appeared in numerous retellings of Arthurian legend. Sandell has done something different here not only in giving Elaine a voice of her own but also in giving her agency in her own right. Song of the Sparrow is the story of before Arthur built Camelot--a prequel of sorts to the legends readers will know from movies and stories. Elaine is a winsome narrator with a captivating story that is exciting and moving.
Beautifully written and elegantly told Song of the Sparrow is a delightfully re-imagined look at the time and world of King Arthur through a feminist lens. Highly recommended.
Possible Pairings: A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray, Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley, After the Kiss by Terra Elan McVoy, The Lady of Shalott by Alfred Lord Tennyson

SeeMichelleRead

More than 1 year ago

I'll admit it first thing: I was a King Arthur groupie. Summers were spent at Renaissance festivals, and one year my best friend and I even made medieval dresses for ourselves - and it wasn't even close to Halloween. So coming into this lovely, lovely book which retells the story of Elaine, the Lady of Shalott, I was more than excited. Then I opened the book and saw it was all in verse and I sort of did a little dance around the house. Okay, so it was a big happy dance.
In this revised version of The Lady of Shaott, Elaine along with her brothers and father live in the soldiers camp under the direction of Arthur. She has become friend, sister and healer to the men but her only wish is that she could have more female friends. As war progresses, Elaine gets her wish when Lancelot, the love of her life, brings back Gwynivere to be Arthur's bride. But Lancelot is obviously in love with Gwyn and can only see Elaine as a young girl. To make matters worse, Gwyn is utterly beautiful and completely mean and nasty to Elaine. Which I thought was totally delicious change.
Sandell may not have stayed completely true to Tennyson's original poem about Elaine, but this version was more filled with hope for the future. The cadence and smooth flow of events competely had me sucked in from the very beginning. Here's one of my favorite passages:
"The warriors gather, but I am not welcome.
Or so Lavaian tells me, hurling/
the words like rocks over his shoulder./
Stay here. The meeting is no place for a girl./
Leaving me here, alone,/
to wait and wonder./
What will become of us?"
Just so dang great.
seemichelleread.blogspot.com

QueenRose

More than 1 year ago

I love this book. Its about a girl Elain who is in love with Lancelot. Then when Gywnivere shows up Lancelot and Gywnivere fall in love. And Elain and Gywnivere don't get along at first. But when they end up in danger they have to put away thier differences forget that they're both in love with Lancelot and work together. I wanted to kick Lancelot because in one part he is upset that Gywenivere is engaged to Arthur and Elain says he can have her. Lancelot was like why would I want you. But then in the end Elain realizes that she is in love with another knight and that she thought she was in love with Lancelot but she was only attracted to his looks. The real legend was not as happy as this. I recommend this book to people who love reading about knights, romance,and King Arthur.

Guest

More than 1 year ago

I actually found this book by accident at our school's annual book fair. One of my friends saw it and read the back and told me this sounded like a book I would like. So a skimmed the first couple pages and decided I need a new book to read, this one sounds good... so I bought it. I love the Medieval era and I just finished a report on the legend of King Arthur. This is one of the only books, that I have read in a long while, that I simply could not put down. When reading you feel, or a least I felt, like Elaine. When she struggles you struggle, when Elaine see that teasing charm in the eyes of some one she cares about, you see it too. This book was rich in detail and it has definitely left me wanting to read it again, and again. I recommend it to anyone who loves the medieval times and a good romance.

SpartanReading

More than 1 year ago

I gave the book The song of the Sparrow 5 stars because it truly deserved it this book was great,I couldn't stop reading,i loved the book from start to finish, the twist and turns kept me reading and i just kept wanting to know what will happen.This book is about a 16 year old girl named Elaine whose mother was murdered by a Pict warrior, her family's house was burned to ashes on their island of Shalott, and she now lives with her two brothers, Lavain and Tirry, and her father in an army encampment for Briton, this &quot;camp is now there home and Elaine plays a big part to keep everyone alive she heals soldiers with her medicine and leafs.One day a lovely girl Gwynivere comes to camp to be the leader King Arthur's wife, Elaine is much jealous and she notices that Lancelot the one she secretly loves has an eye for Gwynivere.While most men were captivated by her looks Elaine did not like her at all and when she got to know Gwynivere she was terrible,rude and nasty she never listened to Elaine and never helped around.One day Elaine is caught by a current and the only one around is Gwynivere.Will Gwynivere save her?Will Lancelot love her back or will there be a new man involved?read the book and find out! I would recommend this story to many people who LOVE romance but also have a hint for betrail and adventure you would love how Elaine battles with her enemy Gwynvivere and all the drama between the her love life and the man she has to pick to love.So come on, get up and read this book i know you will love it!

Guest

More than 1 year ago

Lisa Ann Sandell's captivating story about a girl's first step into womanhood is magnificently written and will plunge readers into the everyday life of a motherless young lady who lives in a camp filled with 500 plus men. Song of the Sparrow is about Elaine of Shallott and how she found her place as a respected friend and advisor in a setting filled with war, fear, and lonliness. Saturated with battle scenes described from a woman's point of view, I reccomend it to anyone who enjoys a good book to curl under the covers with.

GreekCowgirl

More than 1 year ago

This is a story about love, true love and bravery, this will pull at your heartstrings and have you on the edge of your seat the entire time!!

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More than 1 year ago

I read this whole book in three hours!!! Thats 283 pages!!! I LOVED IT!!! IT WAS AMAZING!!!! I HIGHLY HIGHLY HLIGHLY recoimend it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Guest

More than 1 year ago

This is an extremely great book. I read it in less than a day and it had almost 300 pgs given that it is written in stanza form (like a poem) It's amazing though. If you are into King Arthur and all that, but want a girl to be the hero then you should definitely read this or if you just an adventerous story with a little romance spun in there then this is also the book for you. Trust me it's great, a must read.

iluvdeadis

More than 1 year ago

This was a very good book. I read it twice and loved every moment of it. The was Lisa Ann Sandell wrote the book caught my attention with the wonderful literature and meaning of the book. I hope her next book is even better.

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More than 1 year ago

this book was amazing. the storyline in smooth,and exciting. i read this last year, it was so good, i just had to read it again. i would recommend this to teens and young adults, because of some strong violence. all aound this is wonderful book

ertf

More than 1 year ago

I opened this book and saw it was written in verse and thought "maybe this one is not for me" but was hooked within the first few pages. Sandell writes a very human story of love, trust, and coming of age. It was a beautiful read.

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More than 1 year ago

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Kat160

More than 1 year ago

This book was intelligently written. I can believe how good it was. After I brought it to school everyone at my school begged me to read it. Song of the Sparrow sadly now is almost ripped up by all the people who have read it. They all loved it. The story made me cry and feel sorry for Elaine. But the ending was so good.
Peace